Scribd
Upload
107 views

Acid Rain Cause & Prevention: Name Student Id

Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the industrial burning of fossil fuels. These gases react with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to form acids like sulfuric acid and nitric acid, which mix with water and fall to the ground as acid rain. Acid rain harms both natural ecosystems like forests and lakes by changing soil acidity and stripping nutrients from leaves, as well as human-made structures and materials. Reducing emissions from power plants and vehicles can help prevent acid rain.

Uploaded by

Nur Asyikin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
107 views

Acid Rain Cause & Prevention: Name Student Id

Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the industrial burning of fossil fuels. These gases react with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to form acids like sulfuric acid and nitric acid, which mix with water and fall to the ground as acid rain. Acid rain harms both natural ecosystems like forests and lakes by changing soil acidity and stripping nutrients from leaves, as well as human-made structures and materials. Reducing emissions from power plants and vehicles can help prevent acid rain.

Uploaded by

Nur Asyikin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

Acid Rain Cause &

Prevention

Name Student Id
Nur Syahirah Binti Mohamad 2019739997
Nur Asyikin Binti Norhajis 2018216558
Siti Mahirah Binti Hossain 2019702277
Nurshaleeza Binti Abdul Halim 2019725481
Zaki Hilmi Bin Mohd Noh 2019314619
Based on dictionary, acid rain is rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, chiefly to forests
and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulphur and
nitrogen oxides which combine with atmospheric water to form acids. While, acid rain also can be defined as a rain or any other form
of precipitation that is unusually acidic, such as elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants,
aquatic animals, and infrastructure through the process of wet deposition. Acid rain is caused by emissions of compounds of
ammonium, carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. The various gases
like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide react with water vapours in presence of sunlight and form sulphuric acid and nitric acid mist.
The reaction takes place in the following manner.

1) SO2 + H2O = H2SO3 (Sulphurous acid)

2) SO2 + O3 (Ozone) = SO3 + O2

3) SO3 + H2O = H2SO4 (Sulphuric acid)

4) 2NO + O2 = 2NO2

5) 2NO2 + H2O = HNO3 (Nitric acid) + HNO2(Nitrous acid)

The sulphuric acid and nitric acid remain in a vapour state when the temperature is high. The condensation begins with the fall of
temperature and it mingles with the rain, fog or snow and this increases its acidity
* Acid rain mainly occurs due to atmospheric
pollution and can be very harmful to both man-
made objects and natural ecosystems,
especially lakes and forests.
* Acid rain is rainfall with a significantly altered
ph. It mainly occurs due to atmospheric
pollution and can be very harmful to both
human-made objects and natural ecosystems,
especially lakes and forests.
* Acid rain is atmospheric precipitation mixed
with pollution elements that produce acids as
reacting with the natural atmospheric gases and
water, which causes the rain to become more
acidic. Mainly, scientists detect high levels of
nitric and sulfuric acids. The pH of ''normal''
rain is 5.6, which is slightly acidic (pure water
has a pH of 7), but acid rains can have pH
lower than 5, and even 4 in the areas with a lot
of cars and industrial pollution.
CAUSES OF ACID RAIN

Chemical Reaction of Acid Rain


Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) are emitted into the
atmosphere and transported by wind and air
currents. The SO2 and NOX react with water,
oxygen and other chemicals to form sulfuric and
nitric acids. These then mix with water and
other materials before falling to the ground.
CAUSES OF ACID RAIN

NATURALSOURCE
The major natural causal agent for acid rain is volcanic emissions. Volcanoes emit acid producing gases
to create higher than normal amounts of acid rain or any other form of precipitation such as fog and snow
to an extent of affecting vegetation cover and health of residents within the surrounding. Decaying
vegetation, wildfires and biological processes within the environment also generate the acid rain forming
gases. Dimethyl sulphide is a typical example of a major biological contributor to sulphur containing
elements into the atmosphere.

MAN MADE SOURCE


Human activities leading to emissions such as sulphur and nitrogen are the primary contributors to acid
rain. The activities include air pollution sources emitting sulphur and nitrogen gases like factories, power
generations facilities, and automobiles. In particular, use of coal for electrical power generation is the
biggest contributor to gaseous emissions leading to acid rain. Automobiles and factories also release high
scores of gaseous emissions on daily basis into the air, especially in highly industrialized areas and urban
regions with large numbers of car traffic.
EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN

Acid rain has serious implications for continuation of life on this planet. The main acid rain problems are:

1.Effects on Plants and Trees


i. Changes soil acidity
ii. Acidic clouds and fog forms and strip important nutrients from leaves
iii. Plants are expose to insect infestation, and infection by pathogens

2.Effects on Water Bodies


i. Melting snow and heavy rain downpours can result in what is known as episodic acidification
ii. Lower pH levels
iii. High concentrations of dissolved aluminum released from soils often enter streams and lakes
EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN

4. Effects on Human Health


i. Contaminated food can damage the nerves in children, or result in severe brain damage, or even death
ii. Cause respiratory problems especially people with asthma and chronic bronchitis

5. Effects of Acid Rain on Materials


i.Affects human-made structures (ex: Taj Mahal in India)
ii.Cause paint to peel and stone statues to begin to appear old reduces their value and beauty.
PREVENTION
 Reduce amount of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen released into the atmosphere i. Use less
energy (hence less fuel burnt) ii. Use cleaner fuels iii. Remove oxides of sulphur and oxides of
nitrogen before releasing
(a) Flue gas desulphurization
(b) Catalytic Converters

 Use cleaner fuels


i. Coal that contains less sulphur
ii. “Washing” the coal to reduce sulphur conten iii. Natural Gas

 Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD)


i. Removes sulphur dioxide from flue gas (waste gases)
ii. Consists of a wet scrubber and a reaction tower equipped with a fan that extracts hot smoky stack gases
from a power plant into the tower
iii. Lime or limestone (calcium carbonate) in slurry form is injected into the tower to mix with the stack
gases and reacts with the sulphur dioxide present
iv. Produces pH-neutral calcium sulphate that is physically removed from the scrubber
iv. Sulphates can be used for industrial purposes
PREVENTION

 Use other sources of electricity


i. nuclear power,
ii. hydro-electricity,
iii. wind energy,
iv. geothermal energy
v. solar energy

 Reducing the effects of Acid Rain by Liming


i. Powdered limestone/limewater added to water and soil to neutralize acid
ii. Used extensively in Norway and Sweden
iii. Expensive, short-term remedy

You might also like